Churcher’s College, Petersfield

An innovative extension creates significant new teaching space for an independent school.

Project

Churcher’s College is an English co-educational independent, fee-paying junior and senior school for over 1,000 pupils aged from 4-18 years. Beard created an innovative extension of the College’s classroom facilities which involved extending the existing science building upwards to provide additional laboratories and teaching areas. The project was delivered without changing the building’s footprint.

Challenges

The team had to be very careful not to disturb the existing structure, especially during piling work

Eight supporting columns and millimetre accuracy was required as the main girder trusses, each spanning over 25 metres, were assembled and manoeuvred into place during a complex crane operation

Working at the heart of the college required proactive coordination with the school day to minimise disruption and to ensure the safety of students, staff and visitors

Effective collaboration with architects and structural engineers enabled the team to meet strict construction timeframes, fitting works to holiday periods to further reduce disruption

Solutions

The new floor completely spans the existing building and uses girder trusses sitting on supporting columns to ‘float’ over the existing science block.

“We chose Beard for this complex job because they were able to demonstrate a flexible approach to the challenges of the project together with sound experience of educational working environments and the challenges that they present.”